The Life and Art of Sumbat

Date
Tue April 20th 2010, 6:00pm
Event Sponsor
Iranian Studies Program
Location
Pigott Hall, Building 260, Room 113
The Life and Art of Sumbat
Speaker(s):
Armen Der Kiureghian

Armen Der Kiureghian, Iranian-Armenian watercolorist and pioneer

Neither a historian nor an art critic, Armen Der Kiureghian has ventured to publish the book The Life and Art of Sumbat (ISBN 978-0-578-03598-7; 176 pages in hardcover) about renowned Iranian-Armenian watercolor artist, Sumbat Der Kiureghian. His credentials for publishing the book are his intimate knowledge of Sumbat, his father, and that he is an amateur watercolorist who studied under him. The book describes Sumbat's life and art through a series of intimate stories and anecdotes, letters, pictures, and excerpts from other writers. It includes more than 180 reproductions of Sumbat's works. A descendant of 17th century Armenian settlers in the New Julfa district of Isfahan, Sumbat (1913-1999) embodied the artistic traditions of his people and of his hometown. Through his art, he played the role of a mediator between East and West: He brought a European artistic style (lucid watercolor applied in loose brushwork) to Iran and he introduced Iranian lifestyle, folk traditions and landscapes to Western audiences. His paintings show a remarkable mastery of watercolor and gouache techniques, and loving and tender renditions of both Iranian landscapes and the life of ordinary people in Iran. Armen Der Kiureghian is Taisei Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards and has been honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of the Faculty of Engineering of Tehran University, where he received his undergraduate degrees, and of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his Ph.D. in 1975. He has an extensive record of publications in his areas of specialization, which are structural reliability, risk analysis, stochastic structural dynamics and earthquake engineering. Closest parking is at the Oval. Look for Lasuen Mall (located to your left, if facing Memorial Church).

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